Portsmouth, Ohio – Shawnee State baseball came back twice but fell on Tuesday afternoon, losing to Midway (Ky.) 12-9.
The Eagles would take an early lead with three runs in the top of the first inning. Layne Peavler would lead off the game with a walk, then get to second on Danny Maguire's single. Graeham Luttor would then load the bases with his own single to left field, putting Shawnee State starting pitcher Sam Gerhold (SR/Shelton, Washington) in an early jam. Kurt Paldino would follow with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Peavler and moving Maguire to second. Maguire would then score on Barrett Croslin's sacrifice fly to center. After Luttor stole second base, Koy Lindsey would double down the left field line, driving in Luttor and putting Midway up 3-0 after half an inning.
Shawnee State would rally in the bottom of the second to take the lead. Chase Thurber (JR/Andover, Ohio) would lead off the inning with a single up the middle, and Gerhold would be hit by a pitch to put two on with nobody out. With two outs, Blake Marshall (JR/Lexington, Kentucky) would single to left field, scoring Thurber and moving pinch runner Anthony Nichols (JR/Fargo, North Dakota) to second base. Christian Helton (JR/Lexington, Kentucky) would then single to shallow right field, pushing across Nichols and moving Marshall to third, with Helton taking second on the throw. Seth Clement (FR/Kissimmee, Florida) would then cap the rally with a two-run single to right, giving Shawnee State a 4-3 lead on Midway.
The Eagles would hit back with five runs in the top of the fourth inning. Lindsey would lead off the inning with a double, and would be replaced by pinch runner Carlos Cespedes. Francisco Quinonez would single to left to move Cespedes up to third base. Zach Lampreia would then single to left to score Cespedes and tie the game. Quinonez would get picked off by Gerhold to get the first out of the inning, but the rally would continue. Noah Marion would hit a slow roller toward first base, which JT Boggs (SR/South Shore, Kentucky) would bobble on an attempt to throw to second, with both runners reaching safely. Peavler would then get a bunt single to load the bases. With two outs, Luttor would walk to drive in Lampreia to give Midway a 5-4 lead. Paldino would follow with a booming double to right-center, driving in all three runners to give Midway an 8-4 lead heading to the bottom of the fourth.
Shawnee State would get a run back in the bottom of the fourth. With one out, Clement would single to shallow right field. JT Boggs would the double into the gap in left-center, causing Midway centerfielder Croslin to run into the wall. Clement would score on the play, and Croslin would remain in the game after the tumble, as Shawnee State cut the Midway lead to 8-5.
The Bears would get another run in the bottom of the fifth. Casey Claflin (SR/Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) would lead off with a walk, but pinch runner Nichols would be forced out on Danny McGuire (FR/Cleveland, Ohio)'s fielder's choice to second. McGuire would himself be thrown out at second on Marshall's fielder's choice to second base, putting a man on first with two out. Helton would follow with a single to center field, moving Marshall to second. Clement then got his second RBI hit of the afternoon, singling to shallow center to score Marshall and cut the Midway lead to 8-6.
Shawnee State would then rally to tie the game in the bottom of the seventh. Claflin would reach on an error by Marion, who would misplay a grounder at shortstop. McGuire would follow by getting hit by a pitch on the crest of the helmet, moving pinch runner Nichols to second; McGuire would stay in despite the glancing blow to the head. Marshall would move the runners over with a bunt. Clement then hit a fly ball to Maguire in right field, with the Midway outfielder dropping the ball to allow both runners to score, tying the game at 8-8.
Midway would immediately take back the lead in the top of the eighth, scoring four runs. Lindsey would again hit a leadoff double to center field, and be replaced by Cespedes. Quinones would then walk to put two on with no outs, and Lampreia would reach on a bunt single to load the bases. After McGuire dropped a pop-up in foul territory to keep Marion's at-bat going, Marion would single to drive in Cespedes, giving Midway a 9-8 lead. Peavler would then be hit by a pitch, scoring Quinones, keeping the bases loaded and driving Shawnee State reliever Alex Walker (JR/Hopkinsville, Kentucky) from the game. Tyler Arthur (SR/Morehead, Kentucky) would get two quick outs, striking out Maguire and getting Luttor to fly out to right. However, Paldino would finish the damage with a two-run single to right, scoring Lampreia and Marion to give Midway a 12-8 lead.
Shawnee State would score a run in the bottom of the ninth of Midway reliever Barrett Croslin. McGuire would double to right-center to lead off the inning. He would then move to third on Marshall's groundout to second, and score on another groundout from Helton. Clement would then walk, but JT Boggs would roll over to second to give Midway a 12-9 win.
Conner Lindsey would get the win for Midway, allowing two runs on one hit in three innings of relief. Alex Walker took the loss, allowing four runs on four hits in three and one-thirds innings of relief.
The loss drops Shawnee State to 12-24 on the season. Midway improves to 22-18.
Shawnee State baseball returns to action on Friday, April 20 when they take on Kentucky Christian at Branch Rickey Park. First pitch is set for 3:00pm.
